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Those Who Wait is here! Launch Day

Announcement: My new book Those Who Wait: Finding God in Disappointment, Doubt and Delay is now out in the wild, and can be captured and brought to your home via Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Wordery or any good bookshop near you. (Note: there’s been a delay in distribution for some shops, but Amazon have it to buy now).

Everyone is waiting for something: a bus; a spouse; better health; a fresh chance; a true home. Ultimately, we’re waiting for Christ to return and the world to be put right.

What if the Bible characters found it as hard as we do? Through gripping storytelling, we meet four Bible heroes who waited impatiently: Sarah, Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mary. Immersed in their lives, we find purpose in delay, empathy in our doubt and perspective for our struggle. Above all, we find God.

With reflective questions and six Bible studies, it’s perfect for personal devotion or group study.

Here are five reasons you should buy it:

1. It’s for those who can’t wait. My publisher, the lovely Malcolm Down, has been joking about the irony of publishing a book called Those Who Wait for what must be the most impatient author he’s ever dealt with. (Guilty as charged). He said it should be called, ‘Those Who Can’t Wait’. This made me laugh, because that’s actually exactly who it’s written for. It’s for those who not only can’t wait, but don’t want to wait, and don’t understand why God doesn’t act in times of seemingly meaningless delay. It’s a book for those who question and wrestle with doubt and disappointment.

2. It brings the Bible to life – both for those who are newcomers to the Bible, and those who have known the stories since infancy. Written like a gripping novel, we enter into the minds of four ordinary saints who had to wait. The feedback universally from Beta readers has been comments like, ‘I never realised that before’, or ‘I’ll never think of John the Baptist in the same way again’. Michael Wenham, author of My Donkey Body, said this: “It is only the exceptional teacher or preacher who revives [the Bible’s] immediacy for us. Tanya Marlow is one of those exceptional teachers.”

3. It’s for those who feel on the outside of life, feeling like you’re stuck on pause. It doesn’t offer cheap fixes, but enters into the struggle of waiting, and uncovers purpose and perspective along the way.

4. It’s a great resource – it’s designed to be used in multiple ways. It can be used as just a good, quick inspirational read, as a personal devotion, or even as a devotion for the 24 days of Advent, considering how the Bible characters waited for Jesus, and how we in turn long for Jesus and this world to be put right. We yearn to know the ending of the story, and for that ending to be good.

5. Lots of important people like it –

Pete Greig, Spokesman for 24-7 Prayer, and author of God on Mute and Dirty Glory said this:

“This is a gentle book full of humanity, biblical integrity and unexpected humour. It hums and brims with hard-won insights for those of us who wait for miracles, those who’ve given up waiting for miracles but would at least appreciate a few answers, and those who would simply like a little more hope.

“Helpfully designed for groups as well as individuals, I have no doubt that Those Who Wait will bring comfort, tears of relief and smiles of recognition to many, many people.”

Here are some more lovely comments from awesome people:

“Readers of Those Who Wait will renew their strength, they will refresh their soul, and they will reconnect to their God.” – Prof David T Lamb, author of God Behaving Badly

“Responsibly imaginative, beautifully written and readable, pastorally sensitive” – Dr David Wenham, New Testament Tutor and Former Vice Principal of Trinity College, Bristol

“a book which lets the Scriptures fire your imagination as you enter into the faith journeys of four great ancient saints.” – Mark Meynell, author of The Wilderness of Mirrors

“Beautiful, helpful and, most of all, encouraging.” – Katharine Welby-Roberts, author of I Thought There Would Be Cake

“The stories made me cry and made me smile… Read it to be encouraged, read it to be challenged, read it to be comforted” – Dr Jenni Williams, Old Testament Tutor, Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford

“A creative, engaging and timely gift that addresses the universal challenge of waiting on God…written with a novelist’s attention to detail” – Ed Cyzewski, author of A Christian Survival Guide and Flee, Be Silent, Pray

“Ultimately, it is a book for all of us, as we wrestle with the kingdom of now and not yet” – Becky Drake,Founder of Worship for Everyone

“This is a beautiful book – full of heartache, but also hope” – Emma Scrivener, author of A New Dayand A New Name

“Tanya Marlow’s words sent me both to my journal and to my knees…Those Who Wait is such a beautiful invitation to connect with our longing, our hope, our honesty and the God who meets us in the waiting.” – Idelette McVicker, Founder of SheLovesMagazine.com

“[Tanya Marlow] brings their stories to life, all the while imbuing hope and strength in those of us who wait. Which is everyone, I reckon. Don’t miss it.” – Amy Boucher Pye, author of Finding Myself in Britain

Three Reasons you should order it THIS WEEK:

Introductory Sale Price – The RRP is £9.99 / $13.99. BUT until Oct 26th, it’s available from Amazon for £6.99 / $8.99 as a special introductory offer, with the ebook reduced to £3.99 / $3.99. This will probably be the cheapest Amazon will ever sell the paperback.

FREE online Book Club. Have you always wanted a book club experience but can only do it online? Fear not! I’ll be hosting a Facebook Book Club Group friend me on Facebook with a message confirming you’ve bought a copy of the book. Then I’ll add you to an exclusive Facebook book group page so we can read it together with prompts and exercises to do together as an online group. I don’t know if I will repeat this, so if it appeals, jump on it. Runs November 6th – December 17th, 2017.

It would make me happy! The first week of sales can make a big difference to the future of the book.

Where you can get it:

Wherever possible, you should always, always get it from your local Christian bookshop. If you’re ordering 20+ copies e.g. for church, ask about a discount. For conferences or bookstalls, contact your distributor for a discount.

The audiobook will be coming (hopefully) shortly – as soon as I have figured out what the right audio levels are for Amazon Audible, and as soon as I have enough voice to read it!

[…] Whether you are waiting for a bus, a miracle or the return of Jesus, this book is super. Grab a copy now while it’s still at the introduction price. Lots more details and a link to buy are here. […]